gun safety

We’ll leave the discussion of Sig Sauer’s P320 issues, differences between the military contract pistols and those sold to consumers, the “I Told You Sos,” “What Were They Thinkings,” and the Recall vs Upgrade debates to our readers in the comments section below and on the GunLink Forums. There are now plenty of videos and discussions going on around the internet that most people by now know that the Sig Sauer P320 can be caused to fire unintentionally (that is, without an intentional, manual trigger pull) by being dropped at a certain angle or even by giving it a firm whack on the behind.

The company has temporarily suspended shipment of the P320 from the factory while they “ramp up to implement changes” related to the condition.

Sig announced last week that they would be issuing a voluntary upgrade to the P320 to address concerns and the details of that upgrade program -which will include “an alternate design that reduces the physical weight of the trigger, sear, and striker while additionally adding a mechanical disconnector” – are now available.

The official Upgrade Program page is up on the Sig Sauer website along with instructions on how to upgrade your pistol at no cost to you. Owners of affected pistols (US domestic commercial customers) may enter their serial number on the website to begin the upgrade process and then Sig “will contact you regarding the best method for you to get your P320 pistol to them.”

Sig continues to maintain that the P320 pistol is safe in its current configuration on the “voluntary upgrade” page, saying that their “mechanical safeties are designed to augment, not replace safe handling practices. Careless and improper handling of any firearm can result in an unintentional discharge.” Take from that statement what you wish, from a company selling defensive firearms that may be used by open or concealed carry practitioners and law enforcement officers, often in the worst of situations that may include physical confrontations and attacks, sweat, blood, dirt, darkness, and other less than ideal conditions.

This reminds me of the chair lift commercials on TV that advise the old folks to avoid breaking their hips with this weird old trick… “just don’t fall!” Just don’t drop or roughly handle your pistol and you won’t accidentally get shot by it; it’s just that easy! The company continues to go on about how they included (likely legally obligated) language in the user manual that it might go off if dropped.

Although the upgrade page says that MHS pistols are not effected, regular P320 pistols and X-series pistols are effected.

Following what is turning into a flood of internet rumors, memes, videos of the P320 firing when dropped, and a statement last week from Sig Sauer reaffirming the safety of the p320, the company is issuing a “voluntary upgrade” of the pistol that was recently selected for use by the US Army, Air Force, and numerous law enforcement agencies.

The P320 meets U.S. standards for safety, including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) / Sporting Arms Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc. (SAAMI), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), as well as rigorous testing protocols for global military and law enforcement agencies.

The design of the SIG SAUER P320 overcomes the most significant safety concern in striker-fired pistols today: the practice of pressing the trigger for disassembly. This can be performed with a round in the chamber which has resulted in numerous incidents of property damage, physical injury, and death. The disassembly process of the P320, however, uses a take-down lever rather than pressing the trigger, eliminating the possibility of discharge during the disassembly process.

Recent events indicate that dropping the P320 beyond U.S. standards for safety may cause an unintentional discharge.

As a result of input from law enforcement, government and military customers, SIG has developed a number of enhancements in function, reliability, and overall safety including drop performance. SIG SAUER is offering these enhancements to its customers. Details of this program will be available at sigsauer.com on Monday, August 14, 2017.

The M17 variant of the P320, selected by the U.S. government as the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS), is not affected by the Voluntary Upgrade.

“SIG SAUER is committed to our approach on innovation, optimization, and performance, ensuring we produce the finest possible products,” said Ron Cohen, President and CEO of SIG SAUER. “Durability, reliability and safety, as well as end-user confidence in the SIG SAUER brand are the priorities for our team.” Continue reading →

Sig Sauer’s new P320 – which won the XM17 bids for United States Army and Air Force Modular Handgun Systems and has been adopted by a number of relatively high-profile law enforcement outfits – has been facing some online heat as of late. The P320, which beat out offerings from Glock, FN, Beretta, and others, will become the US Military’s new M17 pistol to replace the Beretta M9 and Sig’s old P228 variant, the M11. The XM17 competition results were hotly contested by other manufactures, most notably Glock, who have challenged the results multiple times.

Amid internet buzz that individual owners and law enforcement armorers are concerned about how drop safe the new pistols are and which departments may or may not be abandoning the platform, Sig Sauer sent out the following release yesterday evening:

SIG SAUER Reaffirms Safety of P320 Pistol

Striker-fired pistol exceeds safety standards of ANSI/SAAMI and U.S. military testing

In response to social media rumors questioning the safety of the P320 pistol, a variant of which was selected by the U.S. government as the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS), SIG SAUER, Inc. has full confidence in the reliability, durability and safety of its striker-fired handgun platform. There have been zero (0) reported drop-related P320 incidents in the U.S. commercial market, with hundreds of thousands of guns delivered to date.

The P320 meets and exceeds all U.S. standards for safety, including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc. (SAAMI), as well as rigorous testing protocols for global military and law enforcement agencies.

All SIG SAUER pistols incorporate effective mechanical safeties to ensure they only fire when the trigger is pressed. However, like any mechanical device, exposure to acute conditions (e.g. shock, vibration, heavy or repeated drops) may have a negative effect on these safety mechanisms and cause them to not work as designed. This language is common to owner’s manuals of major handgun manufacturers.

As a result, individual attempts to perform drop tests outside of professionally controlled environments should not be attempted.

“SIG SAUER is committed to producing only the finest products,” said Ron Cohen, President and CEO of SIG SAUER. “Safety and reliability have been and always will be paramount to the SIG SAUER brand.”

Firearms can be a range of things, from useful tools to fun range toys. However, given their nature, firearms can be dangerous in the hands of a bad guy or someone who does not know proper safety procedures.

Project ChildSafe, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), bills itself as the largest, most comprehensive firearm safety education program in the U.S. The organization has partnered with over 15,000 law enforcement agencies to create safety education messages and had distributed more than 37 million firearm Safety Kits to gun owners in all 50 states and five U.S. territories.

You probably already know the Four Laws of Gun Safety. Summer is a great time to get out and hit the range for some shooting fun. While out shooting (or even just handling firearms in general), be sure to practice these four important rules and teach any youngsters or new shooters that you are are shooting with about safe firearm handling.

Project ChildSafe has put up a S.A.F.E Summer Quiz about gun safety. Take the quiz today, either by yourself or with your kids to help reinforce safe firearm handling practices.

The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute® (SAAMI®), one of the world’s foremost experts on firearm and ammunition safety and reliability, is pleased to announce that it has enhanced its website with a new “Frequently Asked Questions” feature. The feature, a searchable online document, is available through the SAAMI website home page.

“We’re very happy to have this added functionality on the SAAMI website and think our site users will appreciate it, too,” said Brian Osowiecki, SAAMI Manager, Technical & Regulatory Affairs. “As the leading technical resource in the industry, we developed this FAQ section to answer the questions we field every day here at SAAMI, questions such as what the difference is between the 5.56x45mm and .223 Remington cartridges, what the terminal energy is of a cartridge and many more, providing definitive answers to the public and industry members.”

Headquartered in Newtown, Connecticut, SAAMI was founded in 1926 at the request of the federal government to create safety, reliability and interchangeability standards for the firearms and ammunition industries. An ANSI-accredited standards developer, SAAMI also coordinates technical data, promotes science-based decision-making by regulators and legislators and promotes safe and responsible firearms use. These efforts are conducted on a global scale. For more information, visit www.saami.org.

DISCONNECTOR SAFETY NOTIFICATION

Daniel Defense is committed to the highest level of quality and safety. In keeping with that commitment we are issuing a safety notification related to a condition we identified with the Disconnector in the Fire Control Group. This safety notification applies to certain firearms manufactured between April 1, 2016 and March 3, 2017. In a few cases, a double fire condition has occurred with a single pull of the trigger. In the Company’s spirit to always do the right thing, Daniel Defense will correct any and all potential conditions at no cost to the consumer as part of our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.

Does This Safety Notification Apply to My Firearm?

Daniel Defense firearms containing a single-stage Fire Control Group, manufactured between April 1, 2016 and March 3, 2017, MAY fall within the scope of this Safety Notification.

This is an important Safety Notification and should be followed by all owners of Daniel Defense firearms.